I just got back from galloping today - so hopefully I can help while I still remember my ride in mostly full detail ;) .
I also have a hard time sitting a gallop - but I can to a lope just fine. One thing I have heard and read, is that if you barely lean forward so you have just a little more weight in the stirrups and your bum is about a half inch off the saddle (kind of like you are riding in your stirrups, but not really) then it can help.
today I was bouncing like crazy, but once I got up in the saddle a little bit it really helped. And if you are having troubles kind of staying that way to begin with, then I found that pushing up on the cantle a little bit helps as well.

I found that when I gallop, if I keep my feet mostly perfectly level with the ground and just kind of even the weight out - it helps with the swinging in my legs - mine do it too.
But just keep them level with the ground and just put a little bit more weight in there than you usually would.

If you are having troubles sitting a lope as well, then I found that if you hold on to the saddle horn, but push back so you are kind of sitting on your pockets in the cantle, then it helps to keep in the seat and ride it a little better.

I hope this helps you because it really did help me today when I was riding.

I cannot think of any time pushing back against the cantle is going to improve your riding. Sounds like a way to create more tension, actually.

Always remember that feeling of looking at a big, open country over the ears of a good horse, seeing a new trail unwind ahead of you, and that ever-spectacular view from the top of the ridge!!! Follow my training blog: http://robertsontraining.blogspot.com/

Always remember that feeling of looking at a big, open country over the ears of a good horse, seeing a new trail unwind ahead of you, and that ever-spectacular view from the top of the ridge!!! Follow my training blog: http://robertsontraining.blogspot.com/

when you say perfectly level with the ground do you mean you leg is perpendicular to the ground?

Yes, kinda. Haha! It's hard to explain - you still want a bend in your knee, but the lower part of your leg should be mostly fully perpendicular to the ground with your foot parallel with the ground. I hope that makes a little more sense, hehe.

Quote:

i have wight in my heels and grip with my knees, but nothing changes.

I know it may be hard - but try your best not to grip with your knees. When you grip with your knees, it can throw you a little off balance sometimes, but also it can make your ride much more bumpier and rough. I did that when I was trotting - I couldn't stop bouncing, haha!!

Quote:

but, sometimes when we are trotting (about a medium trot, not too fast) i ask clearly for the canter and she does this weird in between thing that is a trot and a canter- i can feel the up and down of the trot and the rocking of the canter. then after a second or two she trot and i ask again and she canters- or she will do a fast trot and i ask again and she canters. is there any reason for the in between gait (other than tiredness, and not because she is in pain, because i know she's not)?

I am not sure for a reason other than maybe she might not be sure exactly what you are asking, she might be a little lazy and doesn't want to go there just yet (my horse!!!) or possibly something along those lines.
I know exactly what you are describing because my horse does that too. My horse will go through all his 16 million speeds of trot to see if he can get out of loping for once. When I am bouncing in the saddle like crazy, asking him for a lope and sitting in the right position for it - it is really hard to ask him up again from that trotrotrotrotrotrtortorotrotrot he has. It's crazy.
But I would just make sure to double check your tack, position, and just double check for pain - just to be sure.

I know it may be hard - but try your best not to grip with your knees. When you grip with your knees, it can throw you a little off balance sometimes, but also it can make your ride much more bumpier and rough. I did that when I was trotting - I couldn't stop bouncing, haha!!

I am not sure for a reason other than maybe she might not be sure exactly what you are asking, she might be a little lazy and doesn't want to go there just yet (my horse!!!) or possibly something along those lines.
I know exactly what you are describing because my horse does that too. My horse will go through all his 16 million speeds of trot to see if he can get out of loping for once. When I am bouncing in the saddle like crazy, asking him for a lope and sitting in the right position for it - it is really hard to ask him up again from that trotrotrotrotrotrtortorotrotrot he has. It's crazy.
But I would just make sure to double check your tack, position, and just double check for pain - just to be sure.

well i can safely say that i dont have a death grip with my knees :P there is a little pressure, so my knees arent just hanging out. its actually kind of hard to grip really hard because i have 2 big knots from the girth where my knees are! sometimes i blame them for my unevenness because one is more comfortable than the other

and ooooh yes my horse can be lazy. which is why-(i probably shouldn't note this because of the last rants i got in the critique section)- which is why i have a crop, just incase she is being lazy. i can kick and kick and she wont listen if she is being lazy then i tap her on the shoulder with the crop and she's like "yes ma'am!" and we go off into the next gear

Yes, kinda. Haha! It's hard to explain - you still want a bend in your knee, but the lower part of your leg should be mostly fully perpendicular to the ground with your foot parallel with the ground. I hope that makes a little more sense, hehe...

...When I am bouncing in the saddle like crazy, asking him for a lope and sitting in the right position for it - it is really hard to ask him up again from that trotrotrotrotrotrtortorotrotrot he has...

I have no idea why anyone would WANT their foot parallel to the ground while galloping or cantering. I'm not saying it is always wrong to ride with a level foot. It isn't. But all other things being equal, I don't see a level foot as a big advantage that someone should try to achieve.

If your heel is under your hip, then your lower leg is angled back and a level foot is often all a person can do. If the heel is further forward, and the lower leg is vertical, then it is easy to allow your weight to flow past your knees and into your heels, and have the heels lower.

I'm not a teacher, trainer, champion anything. I don't compete & I only have a bit over 5 years of experience. But personally, my leg is more stable and I find it easier to keep my feet in the stirrups when my heel is just in front of my belt buckle and my heels down.

If you are bouncing like crazy, then something is not quite right. With me, bouncing is usually due to one of two things:

1 - I have a stiff lower back from a fall 4.5 years ago. Some days it isn't too bad, and I can move well with the canter. On other days, it hurts, is stiff as a board, and I use a half-seat to save my horse's back. A stiff lower back and sitting the canter don't go well together.

2 - My horse is balanced too far forward. She is getting better, but she has always had a habit of cantering with her balance dangerously far forward. When we started, I literally was scared we would flip over. She is learning to canter with better balance, and we are doing lots of circles at a trot to help her balance...but when her weight goes too forward, she is a rough ride.

There are probably a lot of other causes of bouncing. Those are my two biggest problems.

Sitting the canter or gallop is fine if you move well with the horse. Given my back, I often prefer a half-seat. Here is an old thread on it, from an English/forward seat perspective:

If you want speed, then a forward seat (including western riding) helps a lot. George Morris's book on Hunt Seat Equitation is great. Although he writes from a jumping perspective, the principles work fine with a western saddle on the flat. At least, they have done well by me.

i was getting back on when the pic was taken so my position might not be perfect, but that is how i hold my leg

and this is and *old* picture of me trotting to show you my leg position. ----do not comment on the reins, they are not tight they are snug to keep her in line or else we would be heading home when she wanted to, they are loosed on the trails----

Your leg position isn't bad. Just remember to get out of his way when you run, which is hard to explain, but upper body forward and pushing him along with your legs when you run.

Not perfect examples by any means, but you can see how my leg matches yours in these shots.

One reason your leg needs to be under you is so you don't do what I did in this picture:

I got way too excited, pushed forward hard to pat her neck as we were running home, and look how my butt is nowhere near the saddle and my leg is up. If she was to jump, slow down suddenly, etc I would be OFF in a heartbeat, or at least close to it. Luckily I sat my butt back down not two strides later after we got passed the timers.

An awkward pic here of use doing a large fast circle in the reining (My hand and upper body needs to be more forward, but look at my leg)

Andd this is just the first barrel racer I yanked off youtube, but check out the body position here too, how stable it is:

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the The Horse Forum forums, you must first register.

Already have a Horse Forum account?
Members are allowed only one account per person at the Horse Forum, so if you've made an account here in the past you'll need to continue using that account. Please do not create a new account or you may lose access to the Horse Forum. If you need help recovering your existing account, please Contact Us. We'll be glad to help!

New to the Horse Forum?Please choose a username you will be satisfied with using for the duration of your membership at the Horse Forum. We do not change members' usernames upon request because that would make it difficult for everyone to keep track of who is who on the forum. For that reason, please do not incorporate your horse's name into your username so that you are not stuck with a username related to a horse you may no longer have some day, or use any other username you may no longer identify with or care for in the future.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

OR

Log-in

User Name

Password

Remember Me?

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.

Old Thread Warning

This thread is more than 90 days old. When a thread is this old, it is often better to start a new thread rather than post to it. However, If you feel you have something of value to add to this particular thread, you can do so by checking the box below before submitting your post.I am aware that this is an old thread and I want to revive it rather than starting a new thread.